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5 Tips to increase Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. (Psychology Today)

According to my Emotional Intelligence Appraisal I fall into the second lowest category together with 25% of people. Ouch. At least it’s not in the 50% category below that. Only 2.5% of people reach the top level.

I sometimes demonstrate emotional intelligent behaviour but not always. It’s not a skill that always comes naturally to me, I have to work on ways to improve on it.

As a teacher I need to inspire people to change their lives and to set goals for the future. It’s important to have EI/EQ in order to get a good read on a specific class. Every class of learners have a different dynamic. That is why I have decided to try to improve it. There are many ways to do so, but I have chosen only five.

5 Tips to increase your emotional intelligence

Take the time to feel it – the first, and probably the most important step is to learn to trust your emotions. Keep a journal with you and the moment you become aware of any emotion you feel strongly, write down the who, what, when, where, why and how of it. Use all your senses to describe what you are feeling.

Manage your emotions – you are the one responsible for your own feelings. Respond to feelings don’t react to them. Reaction is an unconscious process, due to emotioal triggers and works like a release valve. It often leads to negative consequences. Responding is a conscious process where you make a decision to react in a specific way, and you can clearly explain your behaviour.

Show real interest in people – get to know the people you are working with. There could be cultural, religious or other variety in the group. Find out as much as you can about people and make sure they know they are appreciated.

Learn to listen – listening skills are central to emotional competence. Show respect towards the people you talk and listen to, even if they are abrasive. Try to understand the message of the speaker. More important than following steps however is you mindset. Practice self control expecially when the other person has a different opinion than you do.

Learn to be grateful – share positive feelings with your co-workers but in an honest way, not a contrived way. See the skills and gifts in others and motivate them to use those to the best of their ability. Show your appreciation for them in a tangible way.

I’m going to set these as goals for myself to try to improve my own EQ.

Food, nutrition and income security of rural communities depend primarily on natural resources-based livelihoods. On this website I interrogate risk, vulnerablity and capacity of rural communities to climatological hazards. Furthermore, I also talk broadly about sustainable developement issues with particular a focus on natural resources.